Research and Adaptive Management Officer

Mercy Corps - Jordan - Amman

About Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds,perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.
The Program / Department / Team
USAID Informal Livelihoods Advancement Activity (Iqlaa) is a five-year USAID-funded program that aims to support Jordan's home-based businesses (HBBs) and Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) to grow, transform, and become resilient to future shocks. HBBs and MSEs are essential drivers of employment and economic stability in Jordan. Micro and small enterprises represent 98 percent of all businesses in Jordan and compose half of the country’s private sector employment. Therefore, the Iqlaa approach places formal and informal Jordanian HBBs and MSEs on a path to recovery, stabilization, and growth, focusing on four critical sectors: agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, and services, with special attention to technology development and implementation. Iqlaa works to implement best practices in crisis response, enterprise strengthening, inclusive job creation, and financial sector development within a market-systems development (MSD) framework and leveraging innovative behavioral change methodologies to facilitate long-term, sustainable changes in the behaviors or stakeholders and beneficiaries that align better with the current needs of Jordan’s MSEs. Iqlaa will offer bundled support through technical assistance and grants. The program will work with market sector actors to offer five main grants: formalization, start-up funding, business Growth, innovation & Scale, and technology Integration.

General Position Summary
The Collaboration, Learning, and Adaptation (CLA) Officer will play a crucial role in supporting effective collaboration, learning, and adaptation efforts within our organization. The incumbent will work closely with different teams within the organization with a focus on expanding and enriching collaborations, documenting lessons learned and sharing knowledge to guide decision-making processes and adapting the program’s implementation strategies and approaches based on learning. S/he will work closely with the implementation and technical teams, partners, and other stakeholders to co-design, implement and manage learning activities. The CLA Officer will be actively involved in qualitative research methods, intervention quality monitoring, evidence-based communications and organizing and leading reflection meetings with relevant stakeholders. S/he will be responsible for disseminating findings and recommendations to influence stakeholders and to inform decision making and new initiatives.

Essential Responsibilities
Collaboration, Learning and Adapting:
• Work closely with relevant stakeholders to plan, coordinate and implement effective CLA activities.
• Support the CLA Manager in conducting scheduled and ad-hoc reflection meetings with technical sector leads, implementation team leads, partners, and any relevant stakeholders to promote the use of evidence and application of adaptive management.
• Implement a systematic plan for the learning agendas and support the periodic review of the learning agendas and the amendment processes, if necessary.
• Support extraction of learning, lessons, and insights from different systematic sources into actionable recommendations for program improvements to inform program design and implementation.
• Collect evidence-based data through various methods such as interviews and field observation.
• Work closely with program teams to identify and document lessons learned, best practices, and innovations from program implementation to inform programmatic decision-making and improve overall program quality.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with partners and stakeholders to promote collaboration, trust and improve sharing of knowledge and experience.
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform strategic decision-making.
• Proposing changes to program approaches based on learnings and research findings.
• Support the coordination of systematic integration of CLA approach across the program cycle, applying the relevant tools and resources.
• Follow up to make sure that action plans for adaptation are implemented.
• Support the CLA Manager in collaborating with technical teams and implementing partners to develop tools and checklists that facilitate evidence-based activity management and oversight, particularly for data quality analysis, documentation of activity monitoring visits, and presentation of feedback to partners.

• Support the CLA Manager in conducting program reviews, pause and reflect sessions, workshops, and any other learning activities.
• Any other duties as may be assigned.

Communication, Documentation and Report Writing:
• Maintain a knowledge management system and/or knowledge management electronic platform to improve access, sharing and application of program knowledge, lessons learned, and best practices.
• Support the formulation of program reports in a timely manner while ensuring the quality, accuracy, and consistency of information, which may include case studies, stories of change, success stories, learning briefs, or other written materials.
• Support the implementation of effective CLA strategies to help improve development effectiveness.
• Organizing meetings, workshops, and other events to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and lessons learned as requested by the CLA Manager.
• Disseminate learnings and recommendations to team members, partners, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Engage stakeholders on findings from assessments, monitoring, and learning activities for group analysis, interpretation, dialogue, and a holistic perspective.
• Support in analyzing, reporting and interpretation of adaptive management workflows.
• Support capacity building for relevant stakeholders to promote evidence-based, knowledge-driven adaptive practices.
• Any other duties as may be assigned.

Performance Monitoring and Evaluation
• Develop or update monitoring and evaluation data collection tools to capture learnings.
• Support collecting monitoring and evaluation data when needed.

• Analyzes monitoring and evaluation findings to capture and document lessons learned and ensure that these findings are communicated effectively to program staff and partners.
• Extract recommendations based on key findings from evaluations and assessments.

SAFEGAURDING RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Actively learns about safeguarding and integrates it into their work, including safeguarding risks and mitigations related to their area of work
  • Practices the values of Mercy Corps including respecting the dignity and well-being of participants and fellow team members
  • Encourages openness and communication in their team; encourages team members to submit reports if they have any concerns using reporting mechanisms e.g., Integrity Hotline and other options

Supervisory Responsibility
Supervision of other staff is not contemplated.
Accountability
Reports Directly To: The Collaboration, Learning, and Adaptation (CLA) Manager.
Works Directly With: The PQL Director, the Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Coordinator, MEL Assistants, MEL officers, IM coordinator, IM officer, program team members, Partner staff, MC-MEL Advisor, and MC-PAQ manager.
Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders
Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program
participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring, and evaluation of our field projects.
Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills
• A bachelor’s degree in social sciences or a relevant field.
• At least 5 years of experience working in development, with at least two years with supporting adaptive management and cyclical project learning with program teams.
• Experience facilitating CLA activities and developing knowledge products.
• Familiarity with USAID’s CLA Framework.
• Experience working on USAID programs preferred.
• Strong analytical skills and problem-solving skills, including a demonstrated ability to effectively communicate strategies or plans to stakeholders and co-workers.
• Excellent writing skills, including reports, best practices, case studies, etc.
• Fluency in English and Arabic.
• High level of proficiency in Microsoft Office applications.
• Strong planning, organization, critical and strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Exceptional communication (verbal and written) and presentation skills with a dynamic. engaging facilitation style.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members.
• Experience with data management including the ability to structure and collate data sets for ease of analysis.

Success Factors
The successful CLA Officer will combine exceptional Communication and information sharing management skills and experience in data management, development of learning tools, learning agenda and case studies and success stories. S/he will have an ability to think creatively about operationalizing and improving the M&E and documentation of the program. S/he will have proven experience with cross-cultural team and capacity building, individual staff development and strong mentoring skills. Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem-solving and simultaneous attention to detail as well as strategic vision are essential. The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.
Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
The position is based in Amman, Jordan and it requires up to 60% travel to Jordanian’s governorates to support
implementing the program activities. Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all locations.
Ongoing Learning
In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient, and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.
We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening, and evolving tobecome more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.
Equal Employment Opportunity
Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.
We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment
opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including
HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we
work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the  Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. By applying for this role an applicant confirms that they have not previously violated an employer’s sexual misconduct, sexual exploitation and abuse, child safeguarding or trafficking policy. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

As an applicant, if you witness or experience any form of sexual misconduct during the recruitment process, please report this to Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline ([Click to show email]).

الصون و الأخلاق

ميرسي كور تلتزم بضمان المعاملة اللائقة واحترام جميع الأفراد اللذين نتواصل معهم من خلال عملنا, سواء كانوا أعضاء الفريق أو أعضاء المجتمع أو المشاركين في البرامج أو غيرهم.  نحن ملتزمون بالمبادئ الرئيسية المتعلقة بمنع الاستغلال والإساءة الجنسية التي وضعها الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة واللجنة الدائمة للتنسيق بين الوكالات الإنسانية (IASC)، وقد وقعنا على نظام الإفصاح المتبادل بين الجهات الفاعلة في حالة السلوك الغير اللائق. عند التقديم لهذا الدور، يؤكد المتقدم أنه لم ينتهك في السابق سياسة السلوك الجنسي، والاستغلال والإساءة جنسية، صون الأطفال، أو الاتجار بالبشر لأي جهة عمل. ميرسي كور لن تتسامح مع إساءة معاملة الأطفال أو الاستغلال الجنسي أو الإساءة أو التحرش من قبل أو بسبب أعضاء فريقنا. كجزء من التزامنا تجاه توفير بيئة عمل آمنة وشاملة, من المتوقع أن يتصرف أعضاء الفريق بطريقة مهنية, تحترم القوانين والعادات المحلية. والالتزام بسياسات وقيم مدونة قواعد السلوك الخاصة بمنظمة ميرسي كور في جميع الأوقات. كما يتطلب من جميع أعضاء الفريق إكمال دورات التعليم الإلكتروني الإلزامية لقواعد السلوك عند التوظيف وذلك بشكل سنوي.

     كمتقدم للوظيفة، إذا كنت قد شهدت أو تعرضت لأي نوع من أنواع السلوك الجنسي الغير لائق خلال عملية التوظيف، يرجى الإبلاغ عن ذلك إلى خط النزاهة في منظمة ميرسي كور ([Click to show email]).

RECRUITMENT SCAMS & FRAUD WARNING

Mercy Corps has become aware of scams involving false job offers. Please be advised:

Recruiters will never ask for a fee during any stage of the recruitment process.All active jobs are advertised directly on Akhtaboot.Official Mercy Corps emails will always arrive from a @mercycorps.org email address. Please report any suspicious communications to (([Click to show email]))

Post date: 2 September 2024
Publisher: Akhtaboot
Post date: 2 September 2024
Publisher: Akhtaboot